Compression Test of Timber

Introduction:

In tension and compression test, attempt is made to apply an axial load to a test specimen so that uniform stress distribution can be ensured over the critical section. In such tests the specimen is subjected to a gradually increasing (i.e. static) uniaxial load until failure occurs. The static tension and compression tests are the most commonly made and are among the simplest of all the mechanical tests. These tests provide almost all the fundamental mechanical properties for use in design. The use of the tension as against the compression test in all probability is largely determined by the type of service to which a material is to be subjected. Metals, for example, generally exhibit relatively high tenacity and are therefore better suited to and are more efficient for resisting tensile loads than materials of relatively low tensile strength. For brittle materials such as mortar, concrete, brick, and ceramic products, whose tensile strengths are low compared with their compressive strengths, and which are principally employed to resist compressive forces, the compression test is more significant and finds greater use.